IT'S CLASSIFIED February 2023!
February 2023
Spread Kindness
Help Make Kindness the Norm
Did you know that the department of Opportunity & Achievement has a digital Random Acts of Kindness note you can send to a fellow MPS employee? It's a great way to tell someone you appreciate them or something they did.
Clearing your Cache
Just like how a facial mask can clear debris from your face, clearing your cache and cookies from time to time is good “tech hygiene”. It can often help you troubleshoot when your computer is running slowly or you’re having an issue with a certain application.
What is cache?
A Cache is a storage location where your computer saves bits of information like code or logos from websites you visit. Your browser could re-download the logo every single time you visit a different page on that website, but that would be wasteful. So instead, your browser stores the information on your computer, in the cache. By doing so, the website can load faster.
What are cookies?
Cookies store temporary information from websites that are stored within a browser and can be retrieved at a later time. Cookies store information like shopping cart contents, registration or login credentials, or even user preferences.
Sometimes there can be a difference between a version of a website cached (stored) on your computer and the current version that you are loading from the web. This conflict can cause some weird glitches and clearing your cache and sometimes cookies can help (be aware that since cookies keep track of sites where you have logged into, you will have to log back into all of your accounts if you clear your cookies).
Click here for instructions on how to clear your cache in Google Chrome.
Select All
You might know how to select all by using the Ctrl + A shortcut on websites and software programs, but few know that with only one click of the corner button, as shown in the screenshot, all data will be selected in seconds. This trick works in both Excel and Google Sheets.
Switch Between Open Windows
This keyboard shortcut launches a layover window that shows all open programs. Hold onto the Alt key and click the Tab key to move to the next application. Release both keys to open the selected window.
Undo and Redo
Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y
I'm sure you all know that you can undo changes using the Ctrl + Z shortcut. It's the best shortcut to remember when you've messed up. Yes, we all wish this feature existed in real life.
Did you know that you can also undo an undo, i.e. redo what you did using the Ctrl + Y key combination? However, this feature is most useful when you have to repeat a task, like pasting the same information into several locations.
Reminder: Gmail Phish Alert Add-on
In December 2021, MPS's Information Systems department implemented KnowBe4’s phishing alert button (PAB). Once installed and activated, the button will allow the removal of suspicious emails from your inbox and send them to the IS security team for further investigation.
The PAB should only be used to report emails you believe are malicious, not spam or marketing emails. Spam and marketing emails can be deleted or senders can be added to gmails block list.
How to activate your Phish Alert Button (PAB)
How to report a phishing or questionable email
A helpful hint to remember, MPS does not have an "IT" department.
Mail Merge
A mail merge lets you merge information from a spreadsheet into a document. The Edtech department has several tutorials to help you with that process using Word and Excel, click here.
Another option when using Google Sheets is a third-party add-on called Autocrat. The video below shows how to use Autocrat, you can modify these instructions to create a Google Doc label template to create address labels if needed. Watch the video below for a quick Autocrat example.
CustomGuides Training
Self-paced short interactive videos to increase your knowledge of programs like Excel, Word, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Sheets, or Google Docs. Click here for the full list of courses.
Each lesson is between 1 - 3 minutes long!